This invention pertains to an absorbent article, and more particularly to seam constructions in an absorbent article for use as a child'training pant, adult incontinence garment, baby diaper and the like.
Currently, disposable absorbent articles find widespread use for infant care and adult incontinence care, and have generally replaced the use of reusable cloth absorbent articles, such as cloth diapers. The typical disposable absorbent article is a three-layered composite structure comprising a liquid-permeable bodyside liner, a liquid-impermeable outer cover and an absorbent batt disposed between the bodyside liner and the outer cover. Materials now in general use for the three principal elements of a disposable absorbent article include various types of nonwoven fabrics for the bodyside liner, a thin thermoplastic film for the outer cover and cellulosic fluff for the absorbent batt.
As one type of a disposable absorbent article, diapers presently on the market are flat open-sided garments that are intended to be fitted about an infant while lying down. A diaper is meant for use when the child is young and dependent upon a parent for fitting the diaper on the child.
The popularity of disposable diapers has led us to believe there is a demand for a disposable training pant that can be used when a child grows out of a diaper. Diapers are typically used with infants up to about 15 months old. When a child reaches an age in the range of about 15 to 30 months, a parent generally desires to start toilet training so the child can become independent of the parent. The training pant is intended for use when the child has reached an age at which he or she is ready to graduate to an underpant type of garment as a replacement for disposable diapers previously used. Thus, a suitable training pant must be a garment having closed sides so that a child can raise and lower the garment as necessary without requiring the aid of a parent. At the same time, a training pant must provide features of liquid and solid absorbency and prevent leakage of the waste fluids.
As another type of a disposable absorbent article, some of the currently-used incontinence products for adults and older children have been found unsatisfactory due to their bulkiness and ineffectiveness in leakage prevention. Many of these garments are formed by folding flat sheets into a diaper-like folded structure that is bulky and has gaps between the body and article, particularly in the crotch portion.
One of the important performance characteristics required of these articles is the prevention of leakage of liquid and waste matter from the absorbent batt through the seam of the article. Although one solution is to increase the amount of absorbent material, this has the undesirable effect of creating a bulky crotch area. Other attempted solutions have not been totally successful in preventing this type of leakage.